Colombia, Dec 5th, 2022
We start at 6am. It’s 60 degrees and overcast. It’s now 6:24 and I’m unsure of when I will find hot water to brew my instant coffee. We stop for breakfast along the way. A small restaurant just off the road. We order eggs and arepas, I think I could eat this breakfast everyday. Fortunately, Gabriel pulls 2 French presses from his backpack and brews us something tasty to go with our breakfast.
Today we are visiting Asorcafé in the Inza municipality of Cauca. Asorcafé is an association comprised of 250 coffee producers. We stop to visit with one of the members, Adriano Pillimue, on our way to the Asorcafé QC lab. The sun has warmed me up a bit, and I'm feeling good.
Adriano grows several varieties of coffee on his 1 hectare farm that sits at 1,700 masl. He also processes the coffee, controlling the fermentation, removal of the coffee cherry, and the drying process, in a parabolic dryer. Annually, he produces just under 2,000 lbs. He blends all of his varieties together to make up 12 bags of coffee which are sold as a micro-lot under his name.
(Adriano Pillimue)
His family serves us sweet bread along with their coffee that they had roasted over their stove before showing us around the farm. (All very delicious) Adriano’s coffee is planted on the side of a steep mountain. It’s a bit muddy so much balance is required to walk the farm. I almost lose my ass several times! We stop and taste several varieties of coffee. The fruit of the yellow bourbon tasted the sweetest. Coffee snack. After our walk around the coffee trees we are served fresh fruits. The pineapple was especially sweet. So much kindness and hospitality!
Next, we arrive at Asorcafé and sit down to a lunch of potato soup with pork with rice. (I’ve been perpetually full since Thanksgiving) After lunch we cup coffees which were mostly very good. Very vibrant and sweet, but also unique, with flavors of tropical fruit, plum, blackberry, chocolate, and honey. All roasted perfectly, and presented to us with wonderful hospitality.
(Jonathan Meadows, Left - Ryan Hall, Center - Brian Speckman, Right)
